Ishkhan Babajanian, M.D. was born in Badelbu, one of the villages of
Urmia, located in northwestern Iran and bordering Turkey. Along with his
family, he struggled as a Christian minority child and confronted
discrimination and injustice. In 1943, at 9.5 years old, he moved to Abadan, a progressive, southern city of Iran. Abadan was then known as Iran’s cultural, educational and athletic center. He started his schooling with delay and completed high school in 1956. He excelled in his studies as well as in sports. In 1958, he entered the University of Tabriz Medical
School and received his medical degree in 1965. He then worked at the
Shahinshah Organization’s Farah Pahlavi Hospital in Ramsar, Iran. In
1969, Dr. Babajanian repatriated to Soviet Armenia. He worked at the
Yerevan Republican General Hospital as an Internist/Endocrinologist. In
1975, he immigrated to the United States. Due to cultural and language barriers, Dr. Babajanian struggled both to make a basic living and to receive his US medical Licensure. After his pediatric residency in the US, Dr. Babajanian worked in various US Governmental facilities, including the US Coast Guard Academy. After retirement, Dr. Babajanian joined the Armenian Volunteer Corps in 2006 and worked in Karabagh (Artsakh) at the Stepanakert Children’s Hospital. Dr. Babajanian has been recognized with “Outstanding Physician Awards” in different countries. Dr. Babajanian is fluent in Armenian, Persian, English, and speaks Azeri-Turkish and Assyrian. He married his wife, Anahit in 1970 and now they live in Northern California. His older son, Masis, is a proficient cardiologist and his younger son, Armen, received his Master’s in
Political Science and now is the Chief Executive Officer for the World
Affairs Council. Dr. Babajanian spends his time with three wonderful
grandchildren, Gohar (b. 2011), Vartan (b. 2012), and Davit (b. 2016).